30 Apr 2025
The symposium "How to Measure Corporate ESG Performance and Impact", jointly organized by the Suzhou Association for Corporate Sustainable Development, International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China Quality Certification Center Nanjing Branch, and Shanghai Green Light-Year, was successfully held on April 23 at Suzhou ESG Innovation Center in Suzhou Industrial Park. As part of the Shanghai Climate Week 2025 series, the event brought together over 150 professionals from corporations, academic institutions, certification bodies, and NGOs to explore cutting-edge methodologies and practical experiences in ESG performance evaluation.
Dr Ellen Touchstone, Associate Dean for Responsible and Sustainable Business Education at IBSS, hosted the symposium. In her opening address, she emphasized: "Establishing scientific and transparent ESG assessment frameworks is crucial for corporate sustainability in the global carbon-neutral era. This symposium aims to bridge academia and industry to advance localized ESG practices."
Dr Ellen Touchstone
Opening remarks including Minxiang Gao (Deputy Secretary-General, Suzhou Association for Corporate Sustainable Development), Wenjie Li (Deputy Director, SIP Urban Development Research Institute), Huan Ni (Chairperson, Shanghai Green Light-Year), and Banghong Ding (President, SIP EHS Association) underscored ESG's role in sustainable development. Notably, Ms Ni highlighted IBSS's contributions, stating: "With its pool of ESG experts and industry mentors, IBSS provides critical intellectual support for corporate ESG transformation, significantly strengthening the Yangtze River Delta's ESG ecosystem."
Dr Lourdes Montenegro, Research and Digitalization Director at World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), delivered a keynote titled "Ranking ESG Performance of the World's 2000 Most Influential Companies". She explained WBA's methodology for assessing corporate contributions to SDGs, stressing: "Our evaluation goes beyond financial metrics to measure environmental and social impact. We urge more companies to embrace transparency and benchmarking." She also introduced a new WBA product. Eva, a free online tool for SMEs to benchmark themselves against the industry standard.
Dr Lourdes Montenegro
Subsequently, Professor Yao Wang, the director of the International Institute of Green Finance at Central University of Finance and Economics, delivered a speech titled "Corporate Performance and ESG Performance of Chinese Listed Companies". Through detailed data analysis, she pointed out that the ESG disclosure rate of A-share listed companies has exceeded 40%, and enterprises with excellent ESG performance have demonstrated significant advantages in terms of market value, revenue growth, and risk resistance capabilities. Professor Wang particularly emphasized: "ESG is not an 'extra point' for mature enterprises, but rather the core driving force for all enterprises to achieve long-term value creation - the earlier one makes the layout, the more strategic opportunities in green transformation one can seize."
Professor Yao Wang
During the case sharing session, experts from various fields such as environmental protection technology, academic research, international non-profit organizations and ESG consulting, combined with their respective industry practices, deeply analyzed the challenges and innovative paths of ESG implementation. For example, Dr Chen Shili, Assistant Professor of Business and Strategy Management at IBSS, analyzed the cultural conflicts and compliance risks Chinese multinational enterprises face in ESG practices from a strategic decision-making perspective. Using cases like BYD and TikTok, she demonstrated how companies need to move beyond "compliance thinking" and integrate ESG into core business decisions, particularly emphasizing the importance of localized ESG strategies in international expansion. Additionally, Mariama Sonko from Jula Consultancy (a top 10 ESG consulting firm), presented sustainability practices from an African perspective. She provided a detailed interpretation of the "Agenda 2063" framework, highlighting how this initiative offers systematic planning for sustainable development across the African continent. Sonko emphasized that Chinese companies investing in Africa need to pay special attention to core issues such as "environmentally friendly industrialization" and "inclusive growth." She noted: "The ESG evaluation dimensions in African markets differ significantly from those in Europe and Asia. A deep understanding of local sustainable development priorities is crucial for successful ESG strategy implementation."
Finally, under the chairmanship of Shenghui Wang, the EHS Association President of Suzhou Industrial Park, experts from various backgrounds such as those working in the front line of enterprise ESG management and third-party certification institutions engaged in in-depth dialogue. The participants, drawing on their practical experiences in their respective fields, conducted multi-dimensional discussions on the challenges and innovations in the implementation of ESG localization. They provided practical suggestions and ideas for the ESG transformation of different types of enterprises.
IBSS, as one of the organizers of this seminar, has always deeply integrated the concept of sustainable development into the business education system. The school not only cultivates future business leaders with ESG strategic thinking through innovative courses, but also actively builds a platform for industry-university-research cooperation to promote knowledge sharing and practical innovation between the academic community and the business community. In the future, the school will continue to leverage its internationalization advantages to contribute to the improvement and development of the ESG ecosystem in the Yangtze River Delta region.
30 Apr 2025